gamestate » Rhetoric http://www.gamestate.org all games are serious games (but some games are more serious than others) Tue, 31 Aug 2010 19:47:05 +0000 en hourly 1 Joyride: NASA MMO and the Rhetoric of the Military Industrial Complex http://www.gamestate.org/2009/02/joyride-nasa-mmo-and-the-rhetoric-of-the-military-industrial-complex/ http://www.gamestate.org/2009/02/joyride-nasa-mmo-and-the-rhetoric-of-the-military-industrial-complex/#comments Sat, 21 Feb 2009 22:30:11 +0000 Garrison http://www.gamestate.org/?p=565 How much “fun” will NASA’s much-touted Unreal 3-based MMO be when it is released next year? If the captions to still images released on developer Project Whitecard’s website are any indication, not much.

Here’s how they describe the Regolith Grinder (aka “The Taurus”):

“Contructed from an advanced smelting process and lunar factory, it is a general-purpose vehicle with a plow option.”

Maybe things are more exciting over near the Moonbase?

“The centre of operations for Moonbase Alpha, this inflatable, reinforced structure is the core. Look at the scale of the extensible walkway system!”

Nothing says “I can’t wait to play this” like “extensible walkway system.”

]]> http://www.gamestate.org/2009/02/joyride-nasa-mmo-and-the-rhetoric-of-the-military-industrial-complex/feed/ 2 Against the Rhetoric of Cosmopolitanism http://www.gamestate.org/2009/02/against-the-rhetoric-of-cosmopolitanism/ http://www.gamestate.org/2009/02/against-the-rhetoric-of-cosmopolitanism/#comments Tue, 17 Feb 2009 19:03:41 +0000 Garrison http://www.gamestate.org/?p=551 At the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) in Chicago, a behavioral sciences professor from Northwestern University has called into question the idealism of much of our rhetoric on the potential diversity of human networks in MMORPGs.

“Social Drivers for Organizing Networks in Communities” appeared as part of a panel called “Analyzing Virtual Worlds: Next Step in the Evolution of Social Science Research.”

The findings are interesting. According to VWNews:

A group of researchers recently took a look at social habits inside the MMOG Everquest II. Their findings show that players tend to associate with others from their nearby geographical community. Obviously, gameplay heavy MMOGs like Everquest attract a different user than more open-ended or social worlds like Second Life or Habbo, but habits like that could present a challenge to creating international, large-scale communities in virtual worlds.

“People end up playing with people nearby, often with people they already know,” social scientist and engineer Noshir Contracto said in a statement. “It’s not creating new networks. It’s reinforcing existing networks. You can talk to anyone anywhere, and yet individuals 10 kilometers away from each other are five times more likely to be partners than those who are 100 kilometers away from each other.”

Via Virtual Worlds News, “Research Shows Worldwide MMOGs Not Very Cosmopolitan”

]]> http://www.gamestate.org/2009/02/against-the-rhetoric-of-cosmopolitanism/feed/ 2 Be All You Can Be (For A Quarter, To Start) http://www.gamestate.org/2009/01/be-all-you-can-be-for-a-quarter-to-start/ http://www.gamestate.org/2009/01/be-all-you-can-be-for-a-quarter-to-start/#comments Mon, 05 Jan 2009 21:25:25 +0000 Garrison http://www.gamestate.org/?p=515 Today’s New York Times features a brief article on video games and U.S. Army recruiting efforts in a Philadelphia mall.

The facility, which opened in August, is the first of its kind. It replaces five smaller recruitment stations in the Philadelphia area, at about the same annual operating cost, not counting the initial expenses, said Maj. Larry Dillard, the program manager. Philadelphia has been a particularly difficult area for recruitment.

Of particular interest is the Army’s recognition (already noted by scholars like Ian Bogost) that the persuasive capacity of video games extends beyond mere recruitment needs. Games are a more subtle political tool:

“We want to put people in the Army, but that’s about our third priority,” Sergeant Jennings said, gesturing to a kiosk with descriptions of 179 jobs in the Army, including details on salaries and benefits. “Most people think joining the Army means being a grunt, and that Iraq equals death. We try to show them that there’s more to the Army than carrying a gun. If people come in here and they learn that but they don’t join, that’s O.K.”

Read the entire article.

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